At the moment I've got two fiction projects underway. The first is a novel I've been working on since the beginning of the year. I don't like to talk about the actual subject of the work while I'm still writing it (it lets all the hot air out), but what I did want to share was a realisation I had while working on it. Sometimes, writing feels … [Read more...]
Writing tools I can’t live without #2: Fisher Space Pen
You know that feeling of excitement and joy you get when you first buy a new gadget or beautiful item? And how, after a very short time, that initial excitement starts to fade, and eventually, the item just becomes part of your background stuff? Well, that feeling of excitement never faded for my Fisher Space Pen. I love it every time I use it. It … [Read more...]
The Stone Thrower playlist
My new book, The Stone Thrower, just came out in North America, published by the brilliant ECW Press, who also published Instruction Manual For Swallowing over there. As part of ECW's BackLit series, this edition has bonus material at the back: my desert island books, an extra story, and a playlist of music to throw stones to. I wanted to share … [Read more...]
Why you should write in your pyjamas, plus a workshop and new books
Write in your pyjamas A couple of weeks ago, I was back at Arvon's Totleigh Barton in Devon tutoring with the lovely Jen Hadfield. We were talking about our own writing habits, and discovered that one process had given us both a creative jump start. Early in our writing lives, Jen and I both read Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way. Have you read … [Read more...]
Writing tools I can’t live without #1: Evernote
Last night, I went to chat with a writing group in Clapham. When one of the writers asked me about my writing process, I started talking about Evernote, and quickly realised that no one in the room had heard of it. So just in case you're not aware of it either, I want to recommend it to you, whether you're a writer or not, as the ultimate … [Read more...]
‘You’re too old for hobbits’
When I was about 13 or so, my teachers began an assault on my imagination. My English teacher was the first. During a library session, he told us all to go find a book, read it for a while, and then at the end of the lesson to read out the opening page. I picked The Hobbit. It was something I'd read lots of times before and found … [Read more...]
I’ve got writer’s FOMO
There’s a wonderful sense of freedom that comes at the end of a book project. After being locked into one idea for a year or two or three, you’re free to do whatever you like, experiment, play. But then, at some point (the point I’m at now), you’ve got to decide on THE NEXT PROJECT. Once you’ve settled on it, you know it’s going to be with you … [Read more...]
